Radiance and Splendor
by DreamingofHappiness
Summary: "You're like the sun, Lillian," he said. "You aren't confined to a silly old sunflower. You're much more than that." She blushed, feeling a strong heat envelop her and making her smile in only the way he could. She wondered how she had been so blind this whole time.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Good morning Lillian!" called several voices.

Lillian smiled cheerfully and confidently at all the townspeople and played the part of a sincere, happy farmer who loved everyone and had no worries in the world.

But this strong show of confidence faded away as little whispers carried across the square, whistled through the blades of grass, and snaked its way to Lillian's acute ears.

"There goes the Konohana girl again."

It seemed like whatever she did, she could never break free of that title. She never really understood how deep the rivalry between the two villages went until she moved to Bluebell.

Lillian had come to Konohana a year ago and had fallen in love with the strong community there and beautiful Asian homes. But then again she had always been attracted to Japanese style towns.

She had quickly earned a reputation for the town by expanding the farm in a short amount of time and mastering all the little tricks to cultivating crops—and so she had raised Konohana's status is the world market.

But this had also, it seemed, made her more hated by Bluebell. They had been even more insulted by the fact she had stayed in Konohana for a year, before she had moved into Bluebell.

And they were also angry at what poor performance her farm in Bluebell was turning out to be. But it wasn't her fault that she was just better with crops than animals, was it? It wasn't her fault that every single animal she bought from Jessica seemed to hate her. But all this just seemed to prove Bluebell's suspicion that she didn't really care about Bluebell since she wasn't helping their town prosper at all.

Lillian walked quickly over to Cam's flower stand, pretending she hadn't noticed or cared that Eileen had rudely and very pointedly ignored her hello.

Cam was concentrating on making a bouquet and his stunning green eyes remained focused and steady on his task at hand. His agile, gentle hands expertly cut and trim everything perfectly.

Lillian couldn't help but stare openly at him. His slender face and his perfectly ruffled clothing that was so fashionable and distinct and crisp couldn't help but captivate her for a moment or two. Everything about him spoke of grace.

He suddenly looked up and caught her mid stare. Her cheeks blushed a deep red as he gave her a small amused smile.

"What?" he asked. His low voice and perfect red lips seemed to make her think slower than usual.

"Umm . . ." she stumbled over her words. "I need to buy twenty rose seeds," she mumbled.

Cam lifted a delicate eyebrow and handed over the seeds. "Why so much?"

"Well . . ." she hesitated. "Animals . . . just aren't my thing."

"Ah." He turned around, his momentary interest in her gone, and began working on perfecting another bouquet and she took it as a dismissal. She walked away quickly.

She tried not to take it as a insult that he didn't want to talk to her. Because after all, no one really did want to talk to Lillian anyways. At least, not in Bluebell. She had made plenty of friends in Konohana, no problem at all.

So why was she dwelling on this particular fact?

Lillian trudged by, not noticing what was going on around her and bumped right into Georgia.

"Ahh!" she shrieked, quite unnecessarily in Lillian's opinion, but it jolted her back to reality.

Oh no . . . out of all people, why did this have to happen to her?

Georgia and Laney reserved a special spot in every Bluebeller's heart. They were both pretty and terribly good people in their own way. Georgia was outgoing and always able to make a person laugh; her bright red hair and stunning green eyes flashed brilliantly in any room and her loud, boisterous laugh was always a pleasure to hear. Laney was a true beauty, with her beautiful blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. She was slender and kind and everything she did she did with perfection from making strawberry shortcakes to cleaning her room. She was so very sweet and so respectful to her elders, too. These two girls were a shining example of the youth Bluebell raised.

But this was how Bluebell saw them. This was the reputation the girls held.

But this wasn't how Lillian saw them. No, these two girls, Laney in particular, haunted her nightmares and preyed on her happiness.

"Oh, it's you _Mud_," said Georgia with a disgusted look on her face. "Should've known you were the only one stupid and clumsy enough here."

Mud. Georgia and Laney had bestowed this nickname on her one day to make fun of her brown hair. Although it wasn't a terribly clever nickname, it still stung whenever they used it. Especially the degrading way they made her feel when they used it.

"Why don't you look where you're going?" hissed Laney, her usual pretty face twisted up, forming a particularly ugly expression.

"I'm sorry," Lillian mumbled, hoping this would end their verbal attack.

"No, you're not," snapped Georgia. "Now look what you've done! You ruined my favorite shoes!"

Lillian looked down and couldn't see anything wrong with them. But pointing that fact out would only make them meaner. "I think they still look pretty on you," she said softly.

"Eww!" exclaimed Georgia. "What do you know about pretty?"

Laney cut in. "You're the ugliest person in this town, _Mud_, and you have no idea how to dress at all."

The clothes Lillian were wearing were actually made by her good friend Nori from konohana. No matter how much crap Lillian would get from this, she knew she had to speak up; it wasn't her being insulted, it was her friend.  
She stood up straight and said, "I like my clothes. My friend made it for me."

Laney immediately starting giggling making Georgia join in. "You don't have friends, idiot. No one would ever like someone as ugly and stupid and clumsy as you!"

They walked off, laughing. Lillian sighed and looked around the town, but as usual no one was there. No one had witnessed anything. Of course. Laney and Georgia were always careful to avoid making a scene in front of any adults.

But Cam was there. He had finally stopped tending to his flowers to glance up to Lillian's plight. He looked at her with a pained expression and she wondered . . . if that was pity she detected in his eyes.

Of course it was all right he didn't stand up for her. He was very close with Laney and knew that out of all mistakes he could commit, he definitely wouldn't want to make her mad.

And Lillian was used to all the crap Laney and Georgia gave her. They had always hated her-for no reason she was aware of. She was used to having no one speak up for her.

* * *

Lillian watched the strawberry sink into the spring's watery depths and immediately a flood of life showered down and the usual "Tra-la-laaa" was heard.

The Harvest Goddess smiled warmly at Lillian. "Thank you for the strawberry, it's my favorite. You're quite considerate Lillian-you always know how to make people happy!"

Right.

Lillian's mind filled of the sneers and scorns of the Bluebell townspeople and chose not to respond.

"Why'd you summon me here?" asked Lillian.

"Well," said the Goddess carefully. "I wanted to talk to you about . . . your interactions with Bluebell. Laney and Georgia in particular."

Lillian jerked in her place slightly out of surprise. The Goddess plowed on, "You are not following my instructions to unite the towns-"

"I know!" bursted Lillian. "But as you can see, it's not as easily as sitting in a spring all day and watching people do their work for them-"

The Goddess frowned. "Manners, girl! Don't interrupt." Lillian stopped talking but a defiant frown was set on her face.

"The townspeople won't come out of their shells unless you help them win the cooking festival. And try to do better with the animals they give you, will you? Buying roses will not help soothe their anger."

A serious look came into the Goddess' eye. "And as for Laney and Georgia-you have to end this antagonism they give you. You have to befriend them."

"WHAT?" yelled Lillian. "You're asking _me_ to make amends? I have done nothing in any way against them yet they-"

"I know, Lillian, I know!" said the Goddess. "I know they bully you. And if I thought that an adult or goddess scolding them would solve this issue-then I would do so but this wouldn't help at all. These girls know how to put on a good act of innocence and most likely, any scoldings they receive will make them even worse. But you, Lillian, have to be the one to put aside your fears and settle your disagreements."

Lillian nodded sullenly, still not convinced. She burst out, "But why do I have to do this? They are so mean and violent and-"

The Goddess bellowed, "It's for uniting the towns again Lillian! Don't you want this to happen? You were so willing to take on the task when I approached you a year ago!"

Well, that was before I learned all of Bluebell hated me more than my cows do, thought Lillian.

The Goddess softened slightly, and said, "But I know, Lillian, that you will complete this task. Your good heart and sense of duty won't allow you to do anything else. That was why I picked you out of all people."

She smiled and vanished.

* * *

At night, Lillian walked back to the town, to give everyone their requested items for the day. She stumbled by Howard's cafe to give him his mint-"Ohh my dearie Lillian thank you so very much!"- and went over to Cam's room to give him his chamomile.

But then stopped.

Through partly opened door she saw a sight that made her heart shatter into pieces.

Laney had Cam up against the wall, their bodies snaked around each other. Laney's hair had fallen out of her prim bun and now covered part of her face. Cam was kissing her passionately and Laney was returning the kiss just as strongly.

His hands were running through her hair and trailed down her back to her behind, slowly stroking her, making Lillian want to gag. Laney's hands were exploring Cam's chest, his carefully ironed blouse partially unbuttoned.

Cam's kisses went lower and lower until they reached Laney's chest, right in the center of where her bra was sure to be, concealed by her layers of ruffly clothing. Laney moaned softly, smiling and ran her hands through his hair.

She thrust his head up and immediately began kissing him again. As Lillian watched Cam tilt his head to deepen the kiss, she turned away, unable to stomach the sight anymore.

A burning jealousy was filling Lillian right now and a burning, unexplainable hate for both Laney and Cam suddenly overcame her. Why did Laney have the greatest life-she was beautiful and popular, yet she was cruel and surely Cam knew that! Lillian's mind shrieked. Why did Laney have to be so beautiful? Why did she get to be so perfect and happy?

Of course, it was justifiable to feel this way, Lillian told herself. Laney had practically set out to make her life miserable from the second she stepped onto Bluebell's streets. And Cam was stupid enough to fall for this dangerous snake who could easily ruin his life with her horrible jealousy and protectiveness. But it wasn't like her jealousy had anything to do with Cam.

Because Lillian had never noticed how Cam's clothing was always perfectly ruffled in the right spots nor how his green eyes sparkled in the sunlight nor how slender he was or how graceful he moved. And even if she did, it had no effect on her whatsoever and was only a view a random bystander would have of a stranger who they had no feelings for at all.

So it didn't bother her at all that Cam so easily returned Laney's feelings. Not in the slightest.

But, Lillian thought grimly, the Harvest Goddess was wrong. She had overestimated Lillian. All of her talks of amend served to strengthen her hatred for those two girls. There was no way in hell was she ever going to reconcile with them.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Cheryl twirled her blond hair around her stubby little fingers, trying to act older than she looked. "This town is soooo boring. But I like you Lillian." Lillian smiled gratefully back at her. Jessica's family was the only one that was actually friendly to her. They were nice people, she thought.

"I should introduce you to Rahi," Lillian said, poking Cheryl in the stomach, making her dissolve into giggles.

"Who's Rahi?" she asked.

"A handsome young man just your age," said Lillian, with a smile.

"Does he live in Konohana?" asked Cheryl with a sniff.

"Well, yes," said Lillian. "But that doesn't mean he's bad or anything."

"Do you like someone in Konohana, Lillian?" asked Cheryl boldly, making her older brother glance over.

"No," she laughed.

"Do you like someone in Bluebell then?" she asked. Her questions were getting more blunt by the second.

"No," said Lillian after a slight pause when Cam's small curved smile flashed through her mind. But apparently the pause was too long for Cheryl.

"Do you think Ash is cute?" Cheryl asked suspiciously, her chubby face set in a frown.

Lillian laughed and pulled her cheeks, "Not as cute as you!" Cheryl smiled, mollified.

Ash walked over with a smirk on his face. He placed his hand on Lillian's shoulder. "I'd have to disagree with that." he said teasingly. Lillian smiled teasingly back at him.

Jessica walked over to Lillian. "Well, aren't you two getting friendly?" she said. Ash immediately dropped his hand, but laughed.

"Come on Mom!" he said.

"Here's your purchase," said Jessica to Lillian, handing over about twenty feed bags. "But . . . it's rather big so Ash, why don't you be a gentleman and help her get this to her farm."

Ash nodded and offered his arm to Lillian mockingly. She grinned and placed her arm around his. Then Ash immediately ran off, pulling her along and making her shriek and laugh.

"I don't like her anymore," announced Cheryl when the door banged shut.

Jessica laughed. "Well, I find her to be a nice, young girl. She has such a sunny personality!"

Cheryl scrunched her nose. "You think?"

"Yes, why?" asked Jessica.

"I think there's something wrong with her. She seems . . . like she's not happy." Cheryl said.

Jessica, who knew Cheryl had always been very unusually observant of girls, (namely Georgia and now Lillian) who approached her territory, (Ash) and frowned slightly.

"Maybe you're right," said Jessica. But a sudden mischievous light lit up her eyes. "But maybe what she needs is a friend."

And I think Ash is the perfect one to befriend her, she thought.

"I'm her friend," complained Cheryl.

* * *

"Nice farm you got here!" Said Ash.

The farm was rather nice. It was big and expansive yet it didn't hold that many animals.

He pulled the feed bags over his shoulder watching Lillian trail suddenly behind him. He looked surprised but took the lead.  
What happened next surprised him.

The chickens flew after Lillian and tried pecking at her feet. The sheep growled at her and her new horse ran around the farm stomping over her crops yet Lillian did nothing to stop it. The cows ignored her ringing of her bell and sat determinedly in front of her barn blocking the entrance

Ash then realized something that no one else had ever seen or taken care to notice before.

Lillian was scared of animals.

"Oh!" Said Ash, watching Lillian skirt nervously around the angry cow who refused to respect her. The cow suddenly stampeded towards her and Ash tackled her taking her out of harm

"You alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly. "Thanks."

Ash felt sympathy for the young farmer. She tried so hard to do well here, trying to overcome her fear of animals. She needed someone to help her yet was probably afraid of inciting the townspeople antagonism by asking for help.

Ash strode confidently to the cows despite Lillian's squeal of warning. He stared at them, talking in soft low tones, stroking them gently and their angry eyes softened and they licked his fingers  
"Here you try," he said to Lillian. She looked tentative and walked cautiously forward. She petted them softly and Ash guided her hands and coaxed her along with soft instructions. Eventually the cows moved aside.

"There you go!" Said Ash. "They're not as bad as you think right?"

"No," she said shakily.

"If you treat them with love and kindness, they'll always love you back," said Ash. He smiled at her encouragingly and she unwillingly returned his grin

For the rest of the day Ash helped Lillian tame the animals. He even managed to help her ride the horse to town.

"Thanks for the ride!" Ash said.

Lillian shook her head. "No thank you! I would never have been able to control him if it wasn't for you." She smiled gratefully at him.  
Just before Ash unmounted, he saw Lillian stare momentarily at Cam's flower stand and grinned when he saw Cam return her stare.

He hopped off Brownie and saw in horror as his momentum accidentally caused her to fall off.

"Oh no!"

Ash immediately caught her, placing his arms around her thin waist, taking the blunt of the fall. Her light brown hair tickled his face. She was really light, he thought dazedly.

"That was all my fault, I'm sorry," he said. He lifted her up in his arms and she turned around to face him saying "No, it's alright! I'm so clumsy anyways."

Their faces were close together and he could see her face burning. But he lingered, wanting to see what Cam saw.

For the first time he noticed how vibrant her violet eyes were and how slender she was and so very delicate. Almost like she was a flower. Ash unconsciously smiled at her, deepening her blush.

He stood up, pulling her up too, but accidentally drawing her in closer. he backed away from her, ignoring her blush, and said, "Come on, let's go see Cam!"

"Oh no!" She exclaimed seeing the direction they were headed in

"What's wrong?" He saw how scared she looked, but Lillian was after all a very timid person. Therefore it was up to Ash to ignite the romantic sparks between the sweet new farmer and his best friend.

"Well ... Nothing," she murmured. "I just don't want to talk to Cam right now."

"How is he going to get he chance to love you if you don't talk to him?" asked Ash pulling her along. This made Lillian smile in spite of herself and Ash grinned, his victory won.

"Hi Cam!" Said Ash. Cam's eyes were a little squinty having seen Ash and Lillian's interactions with each other. Ash ignored it, just like he ignored every jealous tendency his best friend occasionally had for him. In fact this jealous would even help progress Lillian and Cams relationship along.

"Have you guys ever talked?" he asked curiously.

"Yes," Lillian said. "Well... Kind of."

"Here's the perfect time to do it then!" Ash sang pushing the two towards each other, making both of them blush.

After Cam had steadied Lillian they were surprised to find that Ash had left.  
They shared an awkward smile.

"How's the roses coming along?" asked Cam.

"G-good," she said softly.

"You like flowers don't you?" He said more of an observation than a question.

"Um yes," she said confused on how he had figured this out

In response to her questioning look he said, "I always see you staring at the flowers here ... And everyone says you have a knack for plants don't you?"

"Yes," Lillian said proudly, he had touched on the one thing she had admitted pride on.

"I suppose that's why you chose to love Konohana," he said.

Lillian bristled. "I like Bluebell too," she said, shortly, tired of all the townspeople's concealed insults

"I wasn't insulting you," he said casually.

Lillian surveyed him for a few seconds. She wasn't sure how to act around him; obviously Laney and him were in some sort of relationship and she had always felt uncomfortable around men around her age who were in a relationship.

"Going to enter the Cooking Festival?" he asked.

"Yep. I'm not that good at cooking though." admitted Lillian.

"Even if we don't win, you'll be commended for your efforts," he said but they both knew this was a lie. If she didn't win her new nickname would be Konohana spy.

Cam cleared his throat and handed her a light pink rose.

"Good luck," he said, looking her directly in the eye holding her gaze much more steadily than Lillian could ever do.  
She blushed and admired the rose and when she looked up again, Cam had started working on another bouquet and was ignoring her again.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Lillian!" screamed voices from all directions. The Konohana villagers swarmed her and began talking all at once.

"I've missed you!" cried Nori, a girl even more beautiful and dignified than Laney.

"I've been taking care of your fish pond for you," said Reina quietly, slightly out of it as always.

"Why haven't you visited us?" exclaimed Hiro.

"It's hard to come across the mountain," said Lillian, her face beaming and a smile of true happiness graced her face for the first time in a long time.

Even though Konohana didn't understand why she chose to move to Bluebell or why she wanted to reunite the towns, they still liked her and respected her for all she had done.

But Bluebell was shooting dirty looks at her as they passed.

"Look at her!" Laney's voice hissed. "She's embarrassing us all!"

"What a desperate-" Georgia began but stopped when she caught sight of Kana whose muscles gleamed forbiddingly.

"Kana!" cried Lillian, jumping into his arms. He laughed, spinning her in a circle.

"Lillian! How've you been?" he asked.

"Great!" Lillian lied. In the midst of the crowd she caught sight of Cam who was talking animatedly to Laney and forced down her discomfort. She wasn't going to let Laney or Cam or whoever ruin her day.

"Hey," said a cheerful voice. "Don't be too friendly with the enemy," said Ash, spinning her around.

"Ash!" Lillian said, exasperatedly.

"I'm joking!" he protested. He turned to Kana. "Hi there."

"Hey Ash!" Kana said. At least Ash was trying to be friendly. "

The competitions going to start," Ash told Lillian. "We have to get in our spots."

Lillian nodded and teased Kana, "Don't hate me if I win."

"As if you're going to win!" Kana laughed.

Rutger and Ina were having their usual spat but this time it looked like it involved a cattle prod and Rutger's cane.

"Oh Jesus," said Ash, running forward, wrenching both weapons out of both the mayors' hands.

"Alright, then," said Rutger, after being calmed down by Jessica, Rose, and Ash. "Present your dishes!"

Lillian took out her carefully prepared apple pie and placed it delicately on the table. Laney looked over at her dish and sneered. "Aw, Mud are you trying to copy me?"

"You'll never be able to make anything good as Laney," said Georgia. "I don't even know why you're trying." Georgia's lip curled. "Yours looks pathetic compared to Laney's!"

Actually, the two apple pies didn't look all too different. Lillian thought hers looked pretty good and Laney seemed to realize this too. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously and looking around quickly to make sure no one was watching, she used her elbow to 'accidentally' push the dish off the table.

Lillian watched with horror as her plate fell- Only to be caught by Cam's gentle hands. He placed it back on the table and Laney looked even more furious. She gave Cam a betrayed look and turned on Lillian with a dangerous glint in her slitted eyes. Lillian was getting pretty scared but then Pierre the gourmet saved her from whatever Laney was about to do.

"Alright let's taste these dishes!" He tasted Konohana's first.

At Konohana's table all the dishes were absolutely supreme and Bluebell looked worried.

Rutger began to nervously chew on his tie. Then he tried Bluebell's.

Pierre tasted Jessica's cake and deemed it okay.

"Oh no," whispered Georgia. Everyone knew Konohana had just gotten three goods. Either Laney or Lillian's shortcake had to be really outstanding for them to win.

Pierre picked up a random pie and Lillian closed her eyes, afraid to see whose it was.

"Oh my gosh!" he screamed. Everyone's eyes were glued to him.

"This-this ... "

Bluebell was hanging on pins and needles.

Pierre smiled widely. "is absolutely delicious! Oh I've never tasted something this good!" He looked towards the crowd.

"Bluebell is the automatic winner!"

Bluebell started screaming and cheering, it was the first time since a long time that they had won; Konohana had won for a straight year due to Lillian.

"Good job Laney!" crowed Howard.

Oh. Well of course it was Laney's shortcake. Lillian tried not to feel too disappointed.

When Lillian looked over at Laney's face, she saw that she was not gloating. In fact, she looked very upset and frustrated.

Lillian looked over at the table and realized that the pie that lay untouched wasn't Lillian's . . . It was . . .

"Wait a second," said Rutger. "Was that your pie that won?"

Laney swallowed and didn't say anything. "It's Lillian's pie, isn't it?" said Kana who had come over to see the commotion.

"You know, I think it is! Wow, great job Lillian!" said Rutger. "You were amazing!"

"Nice job Lillian!" yelled Ash.

"You're a fantastic cook!" said Eileen. "Where were you hiding all these skills?"

Suddenly everyone had become a lot warmer to Lillian and she smiled with relief and, even a little pride. However, her smile vanished when she saw Laney and Georgia's faces.

As Konohana grudgingly congratulated Bluebell, for once, Bluebell showed some restraint. "Lillian's the one!" Rutger kept on yelling. "She's the one!"

Lillian was in a celebratory mood. The towns were getting friendlier- was it because Lillian had showed she cared for both towns? Her hard work and pride for each town must have been a good role model for them to follow.

As the festival died down, Lillian walked down the mountaintop. Cam caught up to her and placed his hand in her shoulder. She looked at him, shocked, and was about to say something when Laney and Georgia showed up.

They looked furious and their rage frightened Lillian.

"Did you just do that to make me look stupid, Mud?" demanded Laney.

"You idiot!" Said Georgia. "You're so selfish! Why couldn't you have put aside your own feelings for our town!"

"It's a win for Bluebell, right?" said Lillian tentatively.

"You ... You... Are you making fun of me?" snarled Laney.

"No! I'm-" Lillian tried to protest.

"You are, you conniving bitch! And don't try to deny it! Laney yelled.

Cam stood there, and pain was evident in his eyes. Laney stepped forward, obviously past her breaking point, and pushed Lillian so forcefully that she fell back, down the hill. She screamed feeling her body roll over and over and felt a sharp crack rack her arm. Then everything went black. She could hear people shouting and moving around her but all she was certain of was the sharp pain in her arm.

* * *

A pair of beautiful brown eyes hovered before her. Was it an angel? Lillian wanted to reach up but for some reason her arm wasn't working. She was lying in the bed in Konohana's hospital. A crowd of worried people stood around her.

Ash was hovering over her, his face worried and his light brown eyes concerned. She blushed, realizing what had happened and looked around. Jessica, Rutger, Hiro, and Ayame were standing around her.

"What's wrong?" she whispered. She tried to sit up, but then winced.

"You don't remember?" asked Hiro.

"No . . ." she said.

"Well . . . I believe Laney accidentally made you fall down the cliff," said Ayame.

Lillian's memories flooded back and she remembered everything. Yeah, that was totally accidental.

"She's really sorry about it," said Rutger. "Howard wanted to send his apologies, too."

Right. If she was really sorry, she would be here right now.

"How'd I get here?" Lillian asked.

Jessica was about to speak but Ash interrupted her. "Cam carried you," said Ash quickly. She looked at him, surprised.

"Oh . . ." her face blushed. "That was nice of him."

"You broke your arm," said Hiro sadly, interrupting her daze.

"Oh no!" she cried, seeing the cast on her arm. "What about . . . what about my farm?"

"Don't worry about it!" cried Rutger. "Your health is more important."

Lillian frowned. "But what about the town competitions-"

"So what? We might come in second. Second place is no disgrace." said Rutger.

"I'll help you with your farm, Lillian," said Ash cheerfully. "I'm sure Cam and Laney will help, too!"

She smiled weakly at him, not even going to argue with that.

"But right now, you should get some sleep," said Ayame. She started hustling everyone out. Ash, however, stayed put.

"I'm taking her home later," he said and the defiant stubbornness on his face seemed to amuse Ayame and Hiro who exchanged a glance.

"All right then," said Ayame and they left the room.

Ash looked over at Lillian and saw her eyes were full of tears. "Lillian! Don't cry!" he ran over to her.

"I'm sorry," she said, "it's just-" but she couldn't explain anything so she dissolved in another round of tears.

"It's all right," said Ash. "Everything will be ok. Everyone in Bluebell is sad for you! They all are waiting for you to come home!" He rambled on, trying to appease her.

"And all your Konohana friends were devastated by the news! Kana and Nori were especially distraught! We had to practically throw them out of the room to make sure Ayame and Hiro could help you! And-"

His voice was soothing and Lillian drifted off to dreamland. She didn't know how, but somehow Ash's hand had wound up in hers and she gripped on to it tightly as the world went black again.


End file.
